Trucking news and briefs for Wednesday, March 20, 2024:
ATA's Truck Tonnage Index jumped 4.3% in February from January, but was still 1.4% below February 2023.ATA
The amount of freight hauled by trucks in February rebounded after falling in January, according to the American Trucking Associations.
ATA’s advanced seasonally adjusted For-Hire Truck Tonnage Index increased 4.3% in February after decreasing 3.2% in January. In February, the index equaled 116.0 (2015=100) compared with 111.3 in January.
“After a very soft January, due in part to winter storms, truck tonnage snapped back in February,” said ATA Chief Economist Bob Costello. “February’s level was the highest in a year, yet the index still contracted from a year earlier, suggesting truck freight remains in a recession.”
Compared with February 2023, the index fell 1.4%, which was the 12th straight year-over-year decline. In January, the index was down 4.5% from a year earlier.
The not-seasonally adjusted index, which represents the change in tonnage actually hauled by the fleets before any seasonal adjustment, equaled 109.7 in February, the same as in January.
